


Conflict of Interest

by fraufi666



Series: Chronicles of Communications [2]
Category: Political RPF - Australian 20th-21st c.
Genre: 5G, Alternate Universe - Politics, Australia, Broadband, China, Collaboration, M/M, Partnership, Public Humiliation, Romance, Suspense, Switzerland, Telecommunications
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-22
Updated: 2020-08-22
Packaged: 2021-03-06 21:21:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,282
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26045686
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fraufi666/pseuds/fraufi666
Summary: After retiring from being Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull attends a conference that pushes for a joint integration of Huawei and NBN. Given he had tried to ban Huawei while he was in power, Turnbull strives to make his point heard. But the person who argues for this partnership is someone he did not think he’d see again.
Relationships: Klaus Liechti/Malcolm Turnbull
Series: Chronicles of Communications [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1890694
Kudos: 2





	Conflict of Interest

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: This story is an AU. Although I have used real people and political figures this is entirely a work of fiction. All romantic encounters, events and insinuations are from my imagination. I mean no disrespect to any of the people depicted. I am also in no way politically biased.

The sun was beginning to dip on the horizon as Turnbull sat on the balcony of his mansion, cup of tea in hand. Retirement was so peaceful in comparison to political life, he had almost forgotten what it was like to relax. As he watched the waves ebb back and forth, he did not realise that his wife was standing in the doorway.

“Mal, there’s a Zoom chat in a couple of hours.” Lucy reminded him.

Turnbull turned around to face her, “Zoom chat? Another one?!”

“Yes dear, with the American economist. You promised to speak with him about your new book and your views on Metadata.”

“I’ll be in soon.” He said calmly, picking up his iPad. He had not checked Twitter this evening, and now that he was retired, he could not afford to slack off with social media, lest he wanted to be forgotten. As soon as he had clicked on the Twitter icon, he spotted a post that almost made him spill his tea.

_5G Conference with Huawei, Sydney CBD – 6:00-7:30pm_

Quickly, he searched the date. Upon discovering that the event was tonight, he knew that he could not afford to miss it. He got up from his seat, making his way to his room to change. As he was about to leave the house, Lucy caught sight of him edging towards the door.

“Malcolm, where are you going?”

“Lucy, there’s an event tonight about 5G. I cannot miss it!” Turnbull said urgently, hoping she would let him go.

“I can’t do this conference without you, it’s _your_ book, not mine.” Lucy tried to explain, growing indignant.

“Please, Lucy…just this once I need you to cover for me. I can’t be late! They need someone of my expertise for this. Huawei was what I was trying to ban in the first place when I was Prime Minister, don’t you see?*” He was gesturing wildly, his legs ready to break into a sprint.

Lucy frowned. “But you’re not Prime Minister anymore. That’s Scott’s job. You can’t control anything that goes on anymore. It’s not your responsibility.”

But knowing that the man who was responsible for ousting him was in charge of such a thing only strengthened his determination. There was no way in hell that he was going to let Scott Morrison of all people handle something like 5G. Turnbull knew that he was the only one who had extensive knowledge about this topic. Even Abbott had called him Mr Broadband. Such a nickname would not have been granted to him for no reason, especially since their relationship had always been so tumultuous.

“Sorry dear, I’m off!” Turnbull cried, and without another second, opened the door and got into his car. He followed the fastest route that the GPS directed him to the conference room, all too aware of the time. Even if he got a speeding ticket, it would still be worth it. He could afford to pay for a high fine anyway. The steering wheel felt sweaty with perspiration as he tried to make it through the lights.

“Come on, come on!” He muttered, tooting the horn when a car ahead of him was taking time driving by. Losing patience, he swerved forward, overtaking it. The driver tooted back at him in anger, but he did not care. He could not miss this conference for the world.

Finally, after bothering several motorists on the way, Turnbull had reached his destination. He straightened his suit jacket before walking in. That haphazard drive had given him an adrenalin rush and he was all the more observant of his surroundings. Even though he had only arrived five minutes late, most of the seats were already taken. There was a pretty big crowd of people sitting by watching the conference, mostly rich investors who were interested in Huawei, as well as the usual group of eager journalists which sat at the very front. Framing the podium were two banners: One, the vibrant red fan-like flower of Huawei. The other, which was to Turnbull’s far right was the red and blue abstract, yet familiar shape of Swisscom.

Turnbull’s face fell. He remembered seeing that same logo over five years ago, when he was in Switzerland giving a conference. Even though it had been a long time since that event had last happened, the memory was still so strong in his mind. He remembered how humiliating that day was: how he was jeered mercilessly by a Swiss audience, who did not care to listen to what he had to say about NBN joining forces with Swisscom. The entire conference felt like a lynch mob, staged for someone’s own bitter amusement. The memory was so painful that he had repressed it, along with many other things that he did not wish to disclose in his memoirs. It startled him how much the memory made him wince and for a split second he regretted ever coming to this conference. It was probably better forgotten.

_I know it was not the best plan, but I did not know how I could see you..._

He felt his stomach shift as he remembered a Swiss accent saying those very words, knowing that in a way it was deliberately put on for him. But now that he thought of it, he would never see that man again so it did not matter anyway. Most of the people at the conference no doubt would have no knowledge, let alone any memory of such an event.

As he reassured himself with this fact, he felt a little bit better. He managed to find a seat, third row from the front on the side. It was not the best spot, but at least this meant that he could be able to do what he was planning to do since he knew about the event: to make them aware that 5G was not at all welcome in Australia. A man stood at the podium, introducing himself and Huawei. Turnbull yawned. Whatever this man was going on about was not at all interesting. He looked down at his iPad, going into Twitter so he could tag himself to the event. As he was doing so, the man had walked down the podium, another one taking his place.

“Good evening. I am Klaus Liechti, representative of Swisscom.”

Turnbull’s ears picked up the Germanic accent straight way. He looked up quickly, noticing with horror that he had recognised that man. A series of fragmented memories flitted into his mind momentarily.

_A deserted hotel dining room,_

_An egg being cracked into a cup of coffee_

_His hand resting on a trembling hand_

His heart raced as he recalled the way the Swiss man had scooped a hand into his hair, shyly, yet no-nonsense. He remembered the forbidden kiss in the hotel: the last time they had ever been in close proximity.

And then, it was all over.

“In Switzerland, we have been making considerable progress with our telecommunications. Since joining forces with Huawei, we have made it to the top ten in Average Internet Speeds. With further involvement with Huawei, our speed could well top South Korea. We encourage Australians to adapt to 5G, much like we have done, for this will prevent Australia from being sixty-eighth and back into the top ten where they belong.” Liechti turned to the Powerpoint, showing a graph that made Turnbull writhe in his seat in discomfort. On the vertical axis the graph depicted internet speed, whilst on the horizontal axis, the years since 2015. Oh, how much had changed since that year!

“As you can see from this graph, Australia is trailing far behind for a first world country. If Huawei makes some connection with NBN, this could benefit your country for many generations to come.” The slide changed from the graph to an extensive list of dot points that hurt Turnbull’s eyes as he looked at them. “We plan on modernizing our fixed broadband network by the end of 2021. Our scheme will first begin with internal transformation, such as the cloud. Our second feature will then look at renovating the IP transport network. And lastly, we will focus on boosting the operator’s network access technologies, which is by far the most important feature….”

Turnbull could not listen to him anymore. The way Liechti was so eager to just harp on and on about how good Huawei was, despite the risks associated with them made him feel sick to his stomach. He had absolutely no idea what Huawei was capable of, and he was desperate to ask a question, even though the Powerpoint was still dragging on.

“Excuse me, Herr Liechti” Turnbull heard himself call out, unable to take it back, now that the whole room was watching him. The Swiss man’s eyes finally locked onto Turnbull’s gaze and he cowered slightly. Behind his spectacles, his eyes widened, for he remembered him too.

“I would allow you to keep going on, but you would be misleading the Australian public all the more.” He could see the reporters at the corner of his eye furiously take notes on their iPads at this sudden statement. “As I used to be Communications Minister, as well as Prime Minister, it is my duty to inform the public of the truth.”

“B-but of course.” Liechti stammered nervously, not wanting to get on the Australian’s bad side.

Turnbull smiled slightly at the other man’s meekness. This felt like Parliament all over again. _You can take the man out of politics but never the politics out of the man_. Turnbull thought to himself slyly. He took off his glasses, waving them around as he spoke.

“Now Klaus, I understand you are trying to do the best for Switzerland. I want the best for your country too: But we must be practical here. Huawei may have worked well for you for the time being, but they are a Chinese telecommunications company closely tied to the CCP.” He could hear a few gasps in the audience and chairs creak as people muttered to one another in anxious whispers. It was obviously working.

“It’s true.” Turnbull confirmed, much to the audience’s horror, “Huawei only want one thing, and one thing only: and that is to steal data from millions of Australians. They pose a national security threat, not only to us, but also to the US, Europe and many of our other allies.”

Liechti’s eyes darted around the room, like an animal being hunted. This was not what he was expecting out of the conference he had agreed to speak at. Turnbull could see him raking his brains for a solution, but the audience was getting more unsettled.

“Now now, ladies and gentlemen.” Liechti tried to soothe them, raising his hands to quieten the mutters that were getting louder, “T-there is no direct evidence that Huawei have any connection to the Chinese government, and accusing them of spying sounds too much like something out of an espionage film. I think Mr Turnbull here has been watching too many James Bond movies.” He managed to chuckle, but it came out as a nervous squeak.

Turnbull laughed along with him, but he would not allow the Swiss man to get off so easily. “I do enjoy a good Bond film now and then. Lazenby was particularly good*.” He then raised his index finger to make a point, “But make no mistake, this is not a work of fiction. As I was Prime Minister, I received extensive intelligence that the Chinese are not only trying to dominate the market, but have been using these very technologies that Klaus is praising, to _spy_ on companies and governments around the world. We are a _liberal democracy_ , and as Australians we have the right to protect ourselves from threat. We should not have our privacy and liberties eroded by taking a great risk in investing with quite clearly, a _dangerous_ company.”

Shock was evident in the Swiss man’s eyes. Everything was getting out of control, and he was at a loss at what to do. Despite extensively planning this speech and having all the notes and slides ready, none of them could be used to dispute the claims of the former Prime Minister. He took a deep breath and tried to gather his thoughts. He had to stall them somehow.

“S-sir, please give me a minute to answer your question.” Liechti stammered desperately.

“Don’t you ‘sir’ me, Klaus. A man of your expertise should know that this partnership will ruin everything.” Turnbull replied sternly, not at all willing to back down from what he had started.

There was a frown and Liechti clenched his fists from behind his back. He lowered his tone, shooting an accusative glare at Turnbull. “A partnership can only be successful when there is loyalty and consistency, Herr Turnbull. Swisscom and Huawei’s partnership have both of these qualities. The only one who seems opposed to such qualities, is you.”

Reporters gasped and a few hands shot up. Turnbull had not finished, but Liechti refused to answer any more questions from him. He turned to face the barrage of questions, most of them quite vicious and aggressive. From where Turnbull was sitting, he could see Liechti’s face turn pale. He looked as if he were going to faint. Seeing him like this, Turnbull felt some sympathy. He had to make this right somehow.

Once the room emptied, Liechti glumly began packing up his papers into his briefcase, making his way to the exit. He felt so deflated and hopeless reflecting on the press conference that he did not notice Turnbull was still in the room. He felt a hand touch his arm.

Liechti jolted and spun around to face Turnbull.

“What the hell do you want?” Liechti hissed. He kept his eyes downcast, knowing that seeing those bluish eyes would only soften his resolve.

“I just want to talk, Klaus.” Turnbull responded calmly.

“You had five years to talk, Malcolm.” Liechti replied sternly, “You never got back to me. I thought broadband would bring us together, but all it has done is driven us apart.”

Turnbull took a step closer to him, trying to look into his eyes. “Oh, Klaus. It wasn’t like that at all.”

“Get to the point.” Liechti snapped, a mix of irritation and tiredness in his voice. “I knew that as soon as you became Prime Minister, you would be too busy. But I thought you would at least respond to my messages.”

The older man gently placed a hand against his cheek, but Liechti recoiled.

“Don’t touch me.”

Turnbull took a step back, not wanting to anger him further. “I’m sorry. I will explain everything. Let me give you a lift.”

“No need, I can get myself a taxi.” Liechti muttered, putting a hand on the door handle as he proceeded to open it.

“I insist.” The former politician pressed. Liechti looked up at him, finally meeting his gaze. Turnbull could see tears in his eyes. He knew that he had hurt him, but it was never intentional. “Now look here,” Turnbull began, lowering his tone so his voice sounded gentler, “We haven’t seen each other in five years. All I want is one hour of your time and I’ll leave you alone.”

Liechti shrugged hopelessly, too tired to argue and the two were walking back to the car. Liechti had entered the address of his hotel into the GPS before Turnbull even had the chance to ask him where he was staying. He started the engine and the two were driving through the city. The trip only took ten minutes, and Liechti had turned to look out the window, ignoring him. There was an awkward silence throughout the journey and Turnbull worried that perhaps they would never be able to talk after all. Turnbull briefly glanced at him as he drove, but Liechti’s expression was stoic. He was always such a difficult person to read.

Finally, Liechti managed to break the silence. “We’re here.” He said, recognising the building that they were driving towards. “Come on, I haven’t got all night. I need an early start tomorrow so I don’t miss my flight.” Turnbull unbuckled his seat belt and followed him into the hotel. The two got into a lift and then walked down the hallway to one of the rooms. Liechti unlocked the door, holding it open for Turnbull to walk in before him. Despite his anger towards him, he still had impeccable manners. Then the door was shut and the two were finally alone.

He sat down on a chair and Turnbull sat on the one facing him. Liechti’s eyes were latched onto him, ready for him to start talking.

“Klaus, do you remember how stressed I was when I was hassled at that conference?” Turnbull asked, leaning back in the chair.

“Well of course I remember.” Liechti replied in annoyance, “So tonight was all about revenge for you, huh?”

Turnbull raised a hand, “Let me finish, please.” Liechti crossed his arms, reluctantly ceasing his attack. The older man smiled slightly. “The event was a failure and a great humiliation. I had done all I could to block it from my mind, because it was affecting my judgement and I was second guessing my abilities in everything. I would not have become Prime Minister, if I hadn’t let that part in my life stay in the past. Every time I looked at your messages, it would only remind me of that pain.” 

“But what about me?” Liechti asked, his lip trembling, “Was being Prime Minister so important to you that you decided to forget me too?”

“I had no choice. You have made hard decisions before in order to succeed: Look at your partnership with Huawei.” Turnbull pointed out.

“That’s different!” Liechti snapped, getting up from the chair. He was too anxious to sit still, “This is about business. Y-you led me on and then cast me aside.”

“I’m sorry, Klaus. I really am.” He got up from his chair, walking over to him and took his hand. “It wasn’t an easy decision for me. But I can tell you, I was glad to finally see you again, even though your venture with 5G was misguided.”

“Right.” Liechti responded, looking away from him. The former politician let go of his hand. The Swiss was so cold, the hurt and sadness building up a stronger wall that became difficult to break down. He walked over to the hotel room door. “As you have explained your point succinctly, we have nothing more to say to one another. Go home and be with your wife.”

Turnbull felt slightly saddened at the prospect that nothing he could say would put the other man’s mind at ease. Now that he thought of it, how could he? Liechti was right: he had plenty of time to try and patch their friendship, but he cared more about remembering a good record of his achievements that he deliberately chose to cast aside the man who loved him. A potential lover was now an enemy and had joined forces with the worst company imaginable. Turnbull sighed, knowing there was nothing else he could do.

“Well, whatever happens with Huawei, I wish you well.” Turnbull said, holding out a hand in front of Liechti, happy to at least shake hands on the whole mess.

Liechti shook his head, “Ah-ah Malcolm. Where I come from we say goodbye like this.” And with that, the Swiss removed his glasses and planted a light kiss to his left cheek. Turnbull’s eyes widened as the younger man then kissed the right cheek. Turnbull moved his mouth towards Liechti’s. There was a slight smile, but he shook his head once more and moved to kiss the left cheek.

“Three kisses.” Liechti replied after he was done, replacing the glasses. He was clearly amused by Turnbull’s confusion. It had been a long time since he had last seen Liechti smile. It struck him just how attractive he looked with a smile. He appeared so much more youthful and alluring. Turnbull traced a hand gently against his face as he leaned in while Liechti was still explaining, their lips only inches apart from one another, “It’s Swiss tradition. Just…three…”

Turnbull never got to hear the rest of the sentence as their lips crashed against one another, faster than South Korea’s internet speed. It was impossible to pull away. Liechti’s hands took hold of the former politician’s shoulders as they continued to kiss, fearful of moving away in case the connection they had made was lost once more. Turnbull ran his hands through the Swiss man’s hair as their tender kiss soon turned more lascivious. When their tongues made contact, Turnbull swept one of his hands down the other’s arm, his fingertips making their way to his thigh.

Suddenly, Liechti took hold of his wandering hand, brushing it gently aside.

“What’s wrong?” Turnbull asked, feeling disappointed as he pulled away from him. He could not understand the other man’s intentions. Liechti seemed so desperate to be loved, so eager to take things further, but now he appeared solemn.

“Please forgive me,” Liechti panted, straightening his glasses as they slipped down his nose. “I…I just know how this will end.”

“What do you mean?” The Australian demanded. Nothing he was saying was making sense. Usually, these sorts of affairs often ended the way the parties involved had wanted them to end. But there was so much uncertainty in the dark eyes before him. Turnbull was frustrated by how aroused he was, how eager he wanted to be taken in. But he had to respect Liechti’s wishes. He stepped back politely.

Liechti gazed into the blue eyes before him. He remembered how enticing those eyes were. _Like Swiss Alps in summer._ But he also remembered the last time that they kissed before they parted ways for what seemed to be an eternity.

“Malcolm, I-I want you. I’ve wanted you since I first laid eyes on you all those years ago.” The Swiss admitted hopelessly, looking down. “But if we get too close, I’ll lose you again. I simply cannot let this happen.”

Turnbull gently took the other man’s face into his hands, as if examining him for some further information. “But you have me here, right now.” He insisted. “I’m not going anywhere.”

“It’s not the same…I-I can’t just be some fling that you can pick up and put down whenever you please. I want to be something more. Even if you don’t see me as anything more than that: I need you to at least _treat_ me that way.”

“What is it that you want, Klaus?” Turnbull inquired,

“I want to be _loved_.” Came the reply. “Completely and unconditionally. Just for one night.”

Turnbull thought for a while. There was a conflict of interest and normally he was used to handling them. Even with Swisscom’s partnership with Huawei was a conflict of interest he could accept. But now, he seemed at a loss. He thought for a while, turning away from Liechti. His eyes fell onto the well-made hotel bed and in an instant, he had an idea.

“Klaus, come lie down with me.”

“M-Malcolm, I’m not sure if I can-“

Gently, Turnbull took hold of Liechti’s hand and squeezed it in reassurance, “We’re not going to do anything. Just lie down and talk. I still have about half an hour to spend with you…that is, if you are okay with that.”

Liechti nodded in agreement and walked over to the bed. He removed his jacket and undid his top button before climbing onto the bed. Turnbull lay down on the other side. They lay on their backs for a while, staring at the ceiling, not touching.

“So, what did make you decide to join Huawei?”

“Please, Malcolm…let’s not talk about business.” He rolled over onto his side, taking hold of one of Turnbull’s hands and placing it on his waist. “I just want to be held.”

_Typical of the Swiss_ , Turnbull realised. _Not wanting to mix business with pleasure._

Nevertheless, Turnbull did not argue at that suggestion and sidled up closer to him. He wrapped his arm across his chest protectively, his chin resting against his shoulder.

“How’s that?”

“Danke, that’s fine.” Liechti responded with a small smile as he closed his eyes. Even though he barely said much, Turnbull knew that he could not leave him alone. He planted a kiss gently on Liechti’s shoulder.

“I think I should stay the night.” Turnbull said.

He could not see Liechti’s face in the dark but could feel his smile.

“Yes, I think you should.” The Swiss responded. His hand reached up to rest against the former politician’s hand. Five years ago, he would have recoiled in shock at such contact, but now he felt far more at ease.

Turnbull could feel the other man’s heart flutter against his arm as he held him. Turnbull was not used to this kind of non-sexual contact, yet he felt some comfort in feeling the warmth of the other man’s body pressed against him. He kissed him again, this time on the side of his neck and Liechti relaxed at the contact, sighing.

He was completely oblivious to his phone that was humming quietly on the bedside table, for Lucy was getting worried. Eyelids heavy, the former Prime Minister drifted off still holding onto the Swiss man, that he did not even get a chance to hear the single whisper escape from his lips as the walls of fears and inhibitions had finally crumbled away.  
  


_Ich Liebe Dich…_

**Author's Note:**

> *Footnotes for explanations:  
> “Huawei was what I was trying to ban in the first place when I was Prime Minister, don’t you see?”: Although the events in this fic are entirely fictional, this part was true. I was inspired by the Four Corners episode The Truth About 5G. There is an interview with Turnbull where he speaks about how he banned 5G in Australia. You can see this in the link below:  
> https://www.abc.net.au/4corners/the-truth-about-5g/12519392
> 
> “Lazenby was particularly good”: While it is not clear whether or not George Lazenby was Turnbull’s favourite Bond, I’ve assumed that he is, given he is the only Australian actor to be cast for the role. As Turnbull is an ardent Republican, it only seemed fitting that he’d like an Australian actor for the Secret Service. 
> 
> I also used this article for much of the information in regards to Huawei: https://theconversation.com/whats-wrong-with-huawei-and-why-are-countries-banning-the-chinese-telecommunications-firm-109036 
> 
> German translation key:  
> Herr: Mr  
> Danke: Thank you
> 
> Ich Liebe Dich: I love you


End file.
